I find canned food to be the worse option when it comes to quick meals. Not only are the vegetables usually mushy, the risk of BPA exposure keeps me away from most canned foods.

Four years ago, I wrote a post about canned food and BPA during my early days of blogging. This post caught the attention of a major natural food company, who did not believe Eden Foods cans were BPA-free, as they had not found such cans to readily available for their products. In fact, this company had Eden’s cans independently tested, and did indeed find they were BPA-free.

Woodsy Words is an eco-friendly take on the classic children’s game of pick up sticks. Just like the original, you drop all of the sticks, then try to pick one up without moving the others. What makes this game unique is each stick is printed with an “earth-friendy word”.

From “recycle” to “ocean”, Woodsy Words gives an added literacy twist to pick up sticks. Furthermore, each stick is made from bamboo and printed with vegetable ink.

If you are trying to live a greener, simpler life, you are probably already avoiding packaged food. In general, I avoid over packaged food because of the amount of garbage it is adding to our landfills or energy used to recycle. Sometimes I make an exception for seaweed snacks or Trader Joe’s (yes, I am a hypocrite), but extra garbage or recycling is not the only reason to avoid food packaging. According to a new study, food packaging is a major source of human exposure to the toxic chemicals BPA and DEHP.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been all over the news for years, and many families avoid BPA containing plastics; however, even those can leach hormone disrupting chemicals into our food and drink. Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is a plasticizer commonly used in the production of PVC and is the “most important” phthalate. Both chemicals are considered safe by the US government, although BPA is being investigated. Despite governmental assurances, these are chemicals of concern commonly found in food packaging.

Paul LePage, governor of Maine, is pretty confident that nothing can harm him as long as he doesn’t know sh*t about dick. Here’s his scientific assessment of the dangers of plastic additive bisphenol A:

“Quite frankly, the science that I’m looking at says there is no [problem],” LePage said. “There hasn’t been any science that identifies that there is a problem.”

LePage then added: “The only thing that I’ve heard is if you take a plastic bottle and put it in the microwave and you heat it up, it gives off a chemical similar to estrogen. So the worst case is some women may have little beards.”

When I was first approached about reviewing Cascade’s recycled cardboard tree, I was a bit reticent. We have reviewed several cardboard playhouses before, and they usually end up in the recycling bin after a few months, as they are simply not sturdy. I anticipated this cardboard tree would be similar…disposable after one holiday season. I am pleased to report I was wrong.

A new study was released today giving new meaning to the phrase “toxic assets.” “On The Money: BPA on Dollar Bills and Receipts” researched by the nonprofit groups Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and the Washington Toxics Coalition, set out to investigate the extent to which thermal receipt paper containing bisphenol A (BPA) has permeated the market, and whether this hormone-disrupting chemical is escaping onto the money that lies close to these receipts in people’s wallets.

Researchers found that half of the thermal paper receipts tested had large quantities of unbound BPA; 95% of the dollar bills tested positive for lower amounts. Unlike BPA in baby bottles and other products, BPA on thermal paper isn’t chemically bound in any way: it’s a powdery film on the surface of receipts. Data from this report indicate that this highly toxic chemical does not, in fact, stay on the paper, but rather easily transfers to our skin and likely to other items that it rubs against.

It turns out that the cash in your wallet may be contaminated with the dangerous chemical BPA. A recent study found that BPA (a widely used chemical that causes genetic damage, miscarriages, birth defects and acts like a hormone) is present in paper money. Water bottles, baby bottles and sippy cups just a few years ago were almost all made from BPA-containing plastic (although many are now BPA-free). The linings in food cans often contain BPA. Now we have to deal with BPA contamination in an item that we literally touch multiple times a day.

So how did BPA, commonly used in the clear hard plastic called polycarbonate, find its way into our paper currency? BPA is so widely used by industry that it has become ubiquitous in the environment. One potential source in paper money is thermal paper—the kind that’s used in inkless cash register receipts. The traces of BPA (found in the powdery film on the receipt paper) MAY rub off and transfer from receipts to our dollar bills (ie. every time a receipt is placed near the money in a cash register or wallet; or whenever we touch a receipt before touching money, etc).

WASHINGTON, D. C. – Infant slings and wraps have been used for thousands of years in many different cultures. For many parents across the United States, “babywearing” promotes a positive bond between child and parent. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants to make sure that parents and caregivers are aware of important safety information related to the proper use of slings…

Suffocation/asphyxiation can occur when babies are contained entirely within the pouch of a sling with their face, including nose and mouth, pressed against the adult’s body, blocking their breathing. Suffocation can occur within minutes.

Because of the nature of the product and its use, some slings tend to keep an infant in a curled, chin-to-chest position, which can interfere with breathing. When an infant is in the chin-to-chest position, suffocation can occur. Both scenarios are serious concerns to CPSC. Many of the babies who died in slings were twins in separate slings and infants with breathing issues.

CPSC recommends that parents and caregivers:

Make sure you can see your baby’s face or eyes in the sling and that your baby can see you. Also, you should place the baby’s face at or above the rim of a sling or wrap so that their face is visible.

After nursing your baby, change the baby’s position in the sling, so that the baby’s face is at or above the rim of a sling or wrap and that their face is visible and clear of fabric and the mother’s body. You should be vigilant about frequently checking the baby in a sling.

Could plastic-coated board books contain BPA?

Board books are made from heavy cardboard with a plastic coating. The pages are easy for very young children to turn. Board books are sturdy and can stand hard wear by babies, who tend to throw them, crawl over them, and chew them. Board books can be wiped clean.

With the holiday shopping season about to begin in earnest, and all of the over-consumerism it represents, we are once again cautioned by the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) that many toys are not safe.

In researching the report, we visited numerous national chain toy stores and other retailers in September and October 2010 to identify potentially dangerous toys. We analyzed CPSC notices of recalls and other regulatory actions to identify trends in toy safety. This year, we focused our investigation on hazards from toys and other children’s products that contain the toxic chemicals lead and phthalates, and other metals restricted by the CPSIA.

So why is it that we think winter weather means getting sick? That whole idea that cold causes illness is just an old wives tale but yet we do seem to get more illnesses in the cold weather months. Why is that? Well, I guess it could be due to the fact we are less active in winter. We don’t get as much fresh air and sunlight, our diets are usually lacking in fresh fruits and veggies and packed with more cooked foods and baked items. More baking could mean more white flour and white sugar which is like sending your immune system a note to take some time off the job. In light of that, there are many natural ways we could avoid getting sick in the first place but what if you do anyway? What natural cures should you have on hand? Forget the drugstore you need a DIY natural remedies kit. Here are some things you may want to have on hand:

Garlic – My local organic delivery service has the best garlic ever so I have been adding it to almost everything we eat… 1-2 bulbs a week is what we have been going through. It has an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal compound called Allicin and is, like many things, best when eaten raw and unprocessed. You can simply chop or crush some up and swallow with a spoonful of honey, Mary Poppins style.

The Food Safety and Modernization Act (S. 510) has caused a lot of controversy. The good news is that the Tester-Hagan Amendment (if approved) would address some of those concerns, like exempt some “farms that direct market a majority of the product to consumers to clarify that this includes sales made at farmers markets, community supported agriculture drop-off sites, roadside stands and other similar direct market venues”. Although this amendment is being voted on currently, another positive amendment to S. 510, proposed by Senator Feinstein, has already been shut down by the American Chemical Industry’s powerful lobby.

Today the U.S. Senate failed to consider a ban on the toxic chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, in baby bottles and infant feeding cups. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., planned to offer the ban as an amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act. As recently as yesterday, there was enormous support for the amendment from both sides of the aisle, but intense lobbying at the 11th hour by the American Chemistry Council blocked its introduction.

I still remember that first trip to the department store for a training bra when I was in sixth grade. I didn’t really need it, but my friends were all wearing them. It was also the year I started wearing deodorant, and a year later, I began menstruation at age 12.

My puberty coincided with the onset of the teenage years; however, hormone disrupting chemicals in food and plastics has pushed the puberty age to nine-years-old for girls, according to a new study.